Sahara Story三毛撒哈拉的故事.pptVIP

What is a Desert Like? The desert is a land of extremes: extreme heat and extreme dryness; sudden flash floods and cold nights. Because deserts are such a harsh environment, deserts often have names likes Death Valley“, the empty quarter“, and the place from where there is no return“. Deserts are usually very, very dry. Even the wettest deserts get less than ten inches of precipitation a year. Hot During the Day, Cool at Night Types of Deserts Believe it or not, deserts come in two varieties: hot and cold. Hot deserts The main form of precipitation in a hot desert is rain. But thats only ten inches or less of rain per year. e.g. Kalahari (Southwestern Africa) Sahara (Northern Africa) Cold deserts The main form of precipitation in a cold desert is snow -- but only ten inches or less per year.  E.g. Gobi (Northern China and Southern Mongolia) Great Basin (Western United States) Life in deserts Deserts are the home to many living things. In fact, deserts are second only to tropical rainforests in the variety of plant and animal species that live there. Plants in desert How do you think plants grow in a place that is very, very dry?? Many of the fascinating features of desert plants are adaptations -- traits that help the plant survive in its harsh environment. Desert plants have two main adaptations:? Ability to collect and store water? Features that reduce water loss? * * * *